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Wednesday morning federal headlines - Nov. 21, 2012

Wednesday - 11/21/2012, 8:07am EST

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal
Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The
Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the
stories you hear on the air.

Today is the last day to donate to a governmentwide campaign to help victims
of Hurricane Sandy. The Office of Personnel Management told
agencies earlier this month that they could collect checks or cash from employees.
Agencies picked the charities to receive the contributions. It was not part of the
regular Combined Federal Campaign that continues to go on. Contributions made
through the CFC may benefit the same charities, but they won't reach victims as
quickly. (CHCOC.gov)

Federal personnel
chiefs say they're feeling the pinch. Budget constraints have put a damper on
recruiting, training and retaining employees. One agency chief human capital
officer told Federal News Radio they cannot recruit new hires in a timely manner.
They're leaving vacant positions open longer, which makes everyone else in the
office work harder. But most said low morale was their biggest challenge. Pay
freezes and budget uncertainty have taken their toll on employees' attitudes. But
there's also good news: they report better relations with employees' unions and
progress on diversity initiatives.(Federal News Radio)

Federal workers have given enough. That's according to a bipartisan group of
lawmakers representing the Washington Metro area. In a letter to President Barack
Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) and others involved in the
fiscal cliff negotiations, the group says, when you factor in the 2-1/2 years of
pay freezes, plus increased retirement contributions, federal workers have already
contributed $103 billion toward deficit reduction. That's more than $50,000 per
federal employee. The lawmakers are asking negotiators to keep that in mind during
their budget talks. Signatories include Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.), Frank Wolf (R-
Va.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Gerry Conolly (D-Va.), plus Del. Eleanor Holmes
Norton (D-D.C.) (Federal News Radio)

Technology whizzes have launched a new website designed to help the rest of us
figure out the government. It's called MyGov, and it's only in beta form now.
Boosters hope it will revolutionize the way citizens interact with government,
i.e, cut the red tape. The software programmers who built the site are Presidential Innovation Fellows. They've been working at
federal agencies since August on various projects. Chief Technology Officer Todd
Park promoted the fellowship as a way to bring fresh ideas and innovation to
federal IT. (MyGov)

Attorney General Eric Holder will stay for one more year in President Obama's
second term. Holder will remain after a request from the president to stay
temporarily and prevent a leadership vacuum. Fox News reports potential
replacements could be Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) and Department of Homeland
Security secretary Janet Napolitano. (Fox News)